«The T-shirt of shame»
Geneva schoolgirls recently protested loudly. The reason for the outrage: drastic measures due to the dress code at a secondary school. This imposed the wearing of an oversized T-shirt with the words «I am dressed appropriately» on young people who were deemed to be inappropriately dressed. The pupils refer to this as the «T-shirt of shame».
Branding misbehaving young people is the wrong approach. From the VSLCH's point of view, there is no need for new rules. Above all, it is important that teachers are in dialogue - in relationship - with their pupils. This is the basis for developing the necessary standards together. Those affected should be part of the solution.
«Branding young people who make mistakes is the wrong approach.»
Involving children and young people means showing them genuine curiosity and interest in the world in which they live. If someone comes to school dressed inappropriately, this should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. No new arrangements need to be made immediately. Rather, such a conversation with the words «I see that ... and I'm worried because ...» shows that a benevolent and respectful attitude is being practised despite criticism. Sometimes it is advisable to coordinate within the teaching team or the teaching staff so that a girl is addressed by a female teacher and a boy by a male teacher.
Our partner organisation, the Swiss Federation of Teachers (LCH), also states in its position paper: «The LCH does not consider a binding dress code [...] for pupils to be necessary. [...] Any internal school guidelines on less recommended or inappropriate clothing are sufficient.»
Democracy comes to life when solutions are found together and everyone adheres to the agreed standards.
It is to the credit of the discredited Geneva school that it drew up its rules six years ago in co-operation with the young people and their parents. However, their example also shows how crucial it is for agreements of this kind to be discussed again in due course. Otherwise nobody will understand them.
If we succeed in involving children and young people, we achieve the greatest possible impact and at the same time promote our pupils' understanding of democracy. Democracy comes to life when solutions are found together and everyone adheres to the agreed standards. This applies both to the appropriate dress of children and young people and to the appropriate dress of teachers.
